Dispute Prevention and Resolution
Dispute Review Boards (DRB) can be an effective way to facilitate timely on-site resolution of disputes, preventing matters from escalating costs and timelines. They have played a major role in preventing and resolving disputes in the public heavy civil engineering sector of the construction industry, and the research shows that they can be applied to the private sector.
(SD-95, p. 35)
Claims is a process, which escalates in both cost and time as the dispute is addressed further from the day-to-day activity and personnel. Addressing problems before they result in conflict avoids the Continental Divide and limits exposure to delays and escalating costs. As such, disputes are best resolved with on site with the project managers playing a major role. This insures that those directly involved with the dispute remain involved with its resolution and that this takes place in parallel with the performance of the work.
The existence of a DRB forces project managers to benchmark their decisions, actions and inactions against what would be seen as fair and reasonable by the board. This has a positive effect on attitudes and helps avoid litigation.In order to “start right,” research shows that it is the owner, their lawyers, and their project managers that hold the key to implementation. This can be done by the owner insisting on proper scope definition and objective setting in the pre-construction phase. They can also promote team building and partnering to “stay right.”
